Survival and Identity: The Cordillera Rice Terraces in the 21st century

The Banaue Rice Terraces in the province of Ifugao is recognized as a civil engineering project believed to have been completed in 2000 B.C.

For more than 2000 years, the rice terraces served not only
as a source of food but a symbol of identity for generations of Cordillerans.

But with the new challenges in today’s fast paced and
ever-changing world, can these upland rice systems still survive?

The stairways to the sky

Rice cultivation is an industry common in most Filipino
communities but rice paddies carved along steep mountain slopes are one of the
features unique in Cordillera provinces.

The Cordillera’s rice terraces are found in Ifugao, Mountain
Province, Benguet, Kalinga, some parts of Abra, and Apayao.

Over the years, the different provinces have come up with
their own systems of preserving and managing the rice terraces as livelihood
and food source.

These systems, utilizing local knowledge on biodiversity, agro-ecosystems,
and agriculture are entwined with the ways of life of the Cordillera people.

Food security and the Cordillera rice terraces

Food security is among the global issues that the
Sustainable Development Goals wants to address by 2030.

The Asian Development Bank reported that between 2007 to
2008, the export restrictions placed by rice exporting countries and the panic
buying of rice importing countries like the Philippines increased rice prices
up to 149% leading almost a billion people into poverty.

With its vast rice fields, massive vegetable and fruit
gardens, rich seas, lakes, and rivers, the Philippines still recorded 8.2
million Filipinos below the food threshold and 3.1 million families
experiencing hunger.

The Cordillera, which is home to 1.7 million people mostly
dependent on agriculture, also saw three percent of its population experience
hunger in 2011.

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Noel
Felongco, through Fernando Cao, explained that rural areas, like the Cordillera
region, face concerns on underdevelopment, declining agriculture, and massive
corporate control over food systems, unabling communities to produce their own
food.

“Our population is getting bigger but our farms are
not,” an indigenous peoples leader of the Cordillera said as he discussed
land conversion and decreasing water supply during the NAPC-led Conference on
Cordillera Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao.

These issues, coupled with climate change, ecological
disruption, poor agricultural support, and socio-cultural factors have
deteriorated the condition of the rice terraces.

As a result, food sufficiency and other survival needs are
affected by the high cost of prductivity and low technological support.

“I opted to sell the rice surplus of my family. Instead
of selling it to my neigbor who is short of rice, I have to sell it outside for
a better price.” This is among the concerns raised by a farmer from Barlig
as he talked about the challenges of sending his children to school while
providing the family food.

Beyond Food Security

In most of the previous interventions for the rehabilitation
of the rice terraces in the Cordillera, the socio-cultural component has only
been an add-on to conservation efforts and plans.

University of the Philippines-Baguio Cordillera Studies
Center Director Dr. Leah Abayao highlighted the need to incorporate the
socio-cultural aspect as an integral part of the conservation and
rehabilitation plan of the rice terraces.Commu Abayao said the rice terraces,
more than just a food source, is a reporsitory of the Cordillera identity
including local knowledge and cultural heritage.

Factors such as land, irrigation systems, indigenous
knowledge and practices necessary for the sustainability of the rice terraces
are embedded in the culture and tradition of Cordillera communities.

Responding to the challenge

Recognizing the importance of the rice terraces in the
survival and identity of the Cordillera people, NAPC, as the government’s
coordinating agency in poverty reduction, facilitated the IP-Cordi convergence.

The convergence aims to rehabilitate and conserve the rice terraces; protect critical water
sources, watershed, and biodiversity; strengthen indigenous knowledge systems
and practices; and promote appropriate agricultural development towards food
security in the Cordillera.

IP-Cordi involves
provincial and municipal government units, concerned regional line agencies,
academic institutions, and the Center for Development Programs in the
Cordillera, a non-government organization.

Through consultations and community validation, NAPC has
also crafted a five-year development plan to serve as a blueprint of the IP-Cordi
convergence.

The pro-farmer and pro-indigenous people development plan
2019-2023 aims to increase forest cover by at least 10%, increase land
productivity by 20%, decrease production cost by 20% through improved
technologies, enhance indigenous knowledge systems, and explore the creation of
a Cordillera Rice Terraces Office with a regular budget allocation and
effective participation of indgeous peoples organizations in policy
development.

NAPC presented the plan during the Conference on the
Cordillera Rice Terraces where participants composed of farmers, indigenous
peoples representatives, leaders, line agencies, LGUs, and other stakeholders
discussed issues and shared best practices to improve the IP-Cordi convergence
towards food security.—Source: Jamie
Joie Malingan / PIA.GOV.PH